Secret
by FullmetalWizard1995
Summary: ""I want to be with you, more than anything in the world!...Please tell me you feel that way too."...If Zelda didn't want to be with him, he saw no reason to continue living; if she denied him, the light of his future would wink out." TP-based oneshot.


**A little spur-of-the-moment, TP-based fluffy-slightly-angsty romance thing. Yeah…that's basically it in a nutshell. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda. Not even in my dreams…**

As dangerous as it was at times to be walking through Faron Woods at night without a sword, Link was still doing it anyway. As he followed the winding, confusing paths through the Sacred Grove, he kept his blue eyes wide and alert for any sort of trouble. The darkness made it hard to see very far, but the full moon and stars shining through the canopy of trees gave enough light for Link to have a general sense of the direction he was heading, and to be able to see the glow of an enemy's eyes, should one try to pursue him. In his hand he clutched the note he'd found tacked to the ladder outside his Ordon village home:

_Link, _

_Meet me at the Temple of Time. Be quick, and make sure you're not followed. _

_Zelda_

After what seemed like an endless number of twists and turns, Link finally emerged in the crumbling ruins of the once majestic entrance hall to the Temple of Time. Most of the walls still stood, the rocks beaten and worn and mossy, but the great domed ceiling had collapsed in on itself, exposing the hall to the elements. A Triforce was on the ground in the center of the now grassy floor, and on it stood Princess Zelda.

"Zelda," Link whispered as soon as he saw her. Though she wore her dress often, Link still found himself blown away by how pretty she was in it, and this was preventing him from moving from his spot at the edge of the grove.

"You came," she said as she walked over to him, smiling. Then she took his hand and led him back to the Triforce. They stood facing each other.

"Why did you write this note?" Link asked once they'd stopped walking. "And why did you want me to make sure I was alone?"

"Because," Zelda began as she drew closer to Link, "I wanted us to spend some alone time together." She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "We don't get enough of that."

Link placed his left hand in the small of Zelda's back, pulling her very close, and using his right thumb to trace patterns on her cheek. "No, we definitely don't." His position in regards to the moon caused a long shadow to be cast over part of his face, making him look dark, enigmatic, and all the more alluring to the princess.

"Do we have much time?" the hero asked now, changing tactics and running his index finger along the underside of Zelda's jaw and down her neck.

"No," the princess replied, fidgeting with her hands behind Link's head. "I can only evade the royal guard for so long. They'll find us soon."

"Damn," Link growled, and Zelda felt him tense up against her in anger. "Guess we'll have to make this quick, then."

And then, without much warning, Link slid his right hand back up and used it to pull Zelda's lips to his. They were soft and delicate, and he reveled in her scent: amber, and jasmine. The princess, for her part, kissed Link back with a passion that rivaled his own and ran her hands up and through his hair, holding him close and willing him to become a part of her forever.

Together they stood, each one so wrapped up in the other that any onlooker would no longer see two separate beings. They remained like that for what felt like several eternities before Link broke the kiss to voice something that had begun to weigh heavily on his mind.

"We can't keep doing this forever," he whispered, still so close to Zelda that his lips brushed hers as he spoke.

"What do you mean?" Zelda pulled back just enough so she could look at Link, eyes demanding more than she could voice. "What are you saying?"

"This. We can't- no, that's not what I meant!" Link began to grasp at threads as Zelda continued to move away from him, hurt. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Zelda, please!" Link was desperate now. He silently berated himself for being such an idiot and not thinking before he phrased things. "What I mean is, we can't keep sneaking around like this to be together. We should just…you know…_be_ together!"

Zelda stopped her retreat. She regarded Link apprehensively, her watery eyes unsure whether they should spill over or not.

Link plowed on while he still had the advantage. "I want to be with you, more than anything in the world! And I want all of Hyrule to know it," he spoke more softly now and held out a hand to Zelda. "Please tell me you feel that way too."

Zelda stood and regarded Link's outstretched hand, neither taking it nor turning away from it. Every second she stood there, unmoving, it seemed to Link that the despair inside him was growing exponentially, making him want to collapse in on himself and cease to exist. If Zelda didn't want to be with him, he saw no reason to continue living; if she denied him, the light of his future would wink out. Just when he was convinced that this would happen, Zelda finally spoke.

"I love you, Link." The relief inside the hero was so immense that he could have died right then and there and been happy. "And I want to spend my life with you. But what will my people think? I should marry a noble, not-"

"Stop." Link's interruption was so sudden and sharp, Zelda gasped and her hand flew to her heart. "First of all, why would you want to spend your life with some stiff-collared pompous fool when you could be with someone who really cares about you? And furthermore," Link reached out and, against Zelda's protest, pulled her in and hugged her close, "why should my social standing matter? I'm a hero in the people's eyes, and even without that, the fact that you and I love each other should be enough for them."

Zelda was struck dumb by the truth and sincerity of Link's speech. Everything he'd said made perfect sense, and after a moment, she forgot all about her fear of being disapproved of by the people of Hyrule. Slowly and uncertainly at first, but then with conviction, she lifted her arms and returned Link's hug. "Tomorrow," she whispered.

"Hm?"

Zelda pulled out of Link's embrace and held him at arm's length. "Tomorrow, we make it official. All the people will gather in the courtyard, and in front of them I will announce you as my fiancé."

Link was so overcome with joy at Zelda's proposal that he couldn't decide whether he wanted to laugh, cry, dance, or all three. He settled on a fifth option: taking Zelda by the hips, he twirled around with her, laughing, before pulling her close and kissing her, again and again.

For a long time, they kissed and toyed with each other, reveling in the fact that, the next day, they could finally be what they had wanted to be for so long: a real couple, in the eyes of all Hyrule. The promising light of Link's future lit up once more, and glowed brighter than ever before.

As the night drew to a close and the moon began to wane, Link and Zelda decided it was time to head back. They left the Sacred Grove, hand in hand, not caring who saw them on the way.

**Aaaaand, SCENE! I feel dramatic right now… Read and review, please! **


End file.
